静(jìnɡ)夜(yè)思(sī)

李(lǐ)白(bái)〔唐(tánɡ)代(dài)〕

床(chuánɡ)前(qián)明(mínɡ)月(yuè)光(ɡuānɡ)，

疑(yí)是(shì)地(dì)上(shànɡ)霜(shuānɡ)。

举(jǔ)头(tóu)望(wànɡ)明(mínɡ)月(yuè)，

低(dī)头(tóu)思(sī)故(ɡù)乡(xiānɡ)。

Explanation of Ancient Chinese Poetry

The bright moonlight spills onto the window, as if a layer of white frost has risen on the ground.
I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon in the sky beyond the window, and cannot help but lower my head in contemplation, thinking of my distant hometown.

Annotations

  • 静夜思：Thoughts that arise on a quiet night.
  • 床:1.It refers to a well platform.
    2. It refers to the railing around a well.
    3. “Bed” (Chuang) is a homophone for “window” (Chuang) in ancient Chinese.
    4. It retains its original meaning, referring to a piece of furniture for sitting or lying. The Book of Songs’ “Elegy of the Little Elegant House” mentions “a bed for lying,” and the Book of Changes’ “The Peeling of the Bed” also speaks of “something that rests below and provides comfort,” referring to a bed.
    5. Ma Weidu and others believe that “bed” should be interpreted as a “folding stool” (Hu Chuang), also known as a “cross-legged stool,” “armchair,” or “rope bed,” an ancient portable seating furniture that could be folded.
  • 疑：as if, seemingly
  • 举头：to raise one’s head

Creative Background

Li Bai’s “Thoughts on a Quiet Night” was written on September 15, 726 (the 14th year of Emperor Tang Xuanzong’s reign of Kaiyuan) in an inn in Yangzhou. At that time, Li Bai was 26 years old. On a night with a bright moon and sparse stars, the poet looked up at the moon in the sky and felt a spontaneous homesickness, composing this famous poem “Thoughts on a Quiet Night,” which has been recited for thousands of years and is known both in China and abroad.